There is one fashion tradition that I can’t stand and that is a sweater tied around a mans shoulders. It reminds me of the John Hughes movies of the past and all the guys that did that were some of the worst. I know that it is a “sign” that someone is preppy and rich, but here I am wondering why it is that fashion faux pas hasn’t died yet. Dear Stranger, I Love You revived it and it was the one thing that could make Evan Adams look unattractive.
I said what I said.
Dear Stranger, I Love You – the premise is, “A straight-A student runs a secret essay service until a jock discovers her identity and asks for love letters to win his crush. While helping him, she falls for him herself and must choose between staying hidden or living openly.”
There are a few things that are obvious here with that description, because it is tropey AF. Friends to lovers, forced proximity, second chances, love triangles, off limits crush – there are a lot of them. Yet, I am like give me all of the tropes because I am the person that will dive head first into all of them.
Mia is the “nerd” at school – the one that all the popular girls make fun of and make her life miserable. She’s got a lot of things going on at home, which she doesn’t air at school. Though, her biggest secret is what she does to earn money. She owns an app called Paper Hearts.
The website writes papers for kids at school. She makes a fortune from it and she needs every cent from it for her Moms medical bills. The school would like to shut it down, but they need to figure out who it is running it first.
The one person that has figured it out is Brad, played by Evan Adams. If you watch verticals, you know he’s everyones crush. Part of me would like to say that it’s the abs – they are drool worthy – but it’s Adams natural charisma that radiates off the screen. It’s that and his smile – that cheesy grin that makes a person stop and take notice. It’s the grin that he wears when he’s just talking, the way his eyes light up on the screen. But I digress.
Brad wants her help writing love letters for a girl that he likes. Chloe is the girl that no one bothers, but he’s noticed. She’s unapologetically herself and Brad’s idea of wooing her is writing letters. His writing is atrocious. Her writing screams I love you.
Mia has a crush on this jerk named Dan – who quite honestly is scary. why? His biceps are bigger than her body. She can do better and respect herself more.
But okay – here we are – where she’s saying no to him (which he’s not used to anyone saying no to him) and she’s okay with that. Until (again no shocker) her Mom is in the hospital, in need of some life saving treatment, and she’s gotta make a lot of money.
Of course Brad is “claimed” by the popular girl – Samantha. She’s like hell personified. Samantha is cruel and gross and well, just the worst kind of human. She tortures Mia and wants to shame her at every turn. Brad isn’t about that life and protects Mia.
It’s watching Mia and Brad’s friendship evolve that is what draws you in. Don’t really care about Samantha – because she is one of the worst and you’re too busy caring about Mia and her succeeding. You want the underdog to win.
There are signs all the way through that she’s going to and that these two are falling for each other. Mia and Brad have a special relationship, one where they don’t even notice that they are falling for each other. Does he get Chloe? Yes. And he likes her, but there is always something missing.
Just like with Mia and Dan. Always something missing. Like besides his brain cells. He will only have ever peaked in high school and even that is debatable.
Mia starts to do things that she’s not sure of the reasons why. Like she doesn’t put a letter in the locker for Chloe and can’t understand why she did it. Brad gets angry and that I do understand also. But when you’re coming face to face with feelings, it’s a harsh reality. Brad is really rude about it and doesn’t even get how much he’s hurting her.
One thing that you have to love (I think) about verticals is that they are so tropey and dramatic. It’s in that tropey and dramatic dialogue and scenes that you settle into the chaos and you see yourself. You see the little moments that could be your own.
You see the little moments that you wish would have happened to you. For instance in this one, which is more young adult than adult, you wish that the guy in high school would have seen you when you were invisible. You wish that you wouldn’t be the one that everyone saw as a friend versus seeing the love that you have to give.
Eventually this story plays out and you see them really start to realize what all of the words that they have said to each other, all the little touches, all of the arguments and all of the angst makes sense to them both.
There is a lot of drama, fights and theft that happens. And at the end of the day there is sacrifice. A sacrifice that will redefine them both. There is no right or wrong way to fall in or out of love – it just happens. And when it happens you’ll find yourself screaming at your phone on the train that it was about damn time.
OTHER THOUGHTS
- Hate Dan
- Did we mention we hate Dan?
- We’ve all had sex dreams Mia, no need to be ashamed
- You gotta pay attention to the wardrobe in these things. It makes a statement
- Mia admitting her feelings – kudos
- Brad writing Mia a letter – I loved that
- Take notice, take control
- All I could think of with the school colors was is someone from the LA Rams financing this?
- Not all of us drive Brad
- Dan is the worst
Dear Stranger, I Love You is streaming exclusively on Shorts.
